§60.3 Recoverability of Monies from Loss of Consortium Plaintiff
1. Correll v. E.I. Dupont Nemours & Co., 207 S.W.3d 751 (Tenn. 2006).
The Court's Summary:
"We accepted this appeal prior to its review by the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel primarily to determine whether an employer’s subrogation right under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-112© extends to the recovery an employee’s surviving spouse obtains in a products liability action filed by the employee in Georgia prior to his death. We uphold the trial court’s determination that the employer’s statutory subrogation extends to the surviving spouse’s products liability recovery. In addition, we affirm the trial court’s disposition of the plaintiff’s claim concerning a Medicare lien for medical expenses, the trial court’s holding that an offset for Social Security old-age benefits applies to the award of workers’ compensation death benefits, and the trial court’s resolution of the surviving spouse’s claim for attorneys’ fees. We remand this case to the trial court to determine the amount of the recovery the employee’s surviving spouse obtained in the Georgia products liability action and to allocate a reasonable portion of the recovery to the surviving spouse’s claim for loss of consortium, to which the employer’s subrogation right does not extend. Finally, upon remand the parties may submit for the trial court’s consideration proof concerning the amount of the deceased employee’s medical expenses for which the employer is responsible." View opinion.
The Court's Summary:
"We accepted this appeal prior to its review by the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel primarily to determine whether an employer’s subrogation right under Tennessee Code Annotated section 50-6-112© extends to the recovery an employee’s surviving spouse obtains in a products liability action filed by the employee in Georgia prior to his death. We uphold the trial court’s determination that the employer’s statutory subrogation extends to the surviving spouse’s products liability recovery. In addition, we affirm the trial court’s disposition of the plaintiff’s claim concerning a Medicare lien for medical expenses, the trial court’s holding that an offset for Social Security old-age benefits applies to the award of workers’ compensation death benefits, and the trial court’s resolution of the surviving spouse’s claim for attorneys’ fees. We remand this case to the trial court to determine the amount of the recovery the employee’s surviving spouse obtained in the Georgia products liability action and to allocate a reasonable portion of the recovery to the surviving spouse’s claim for loss of consortium, to which the employer’s subrogation right does not extend. Finally, upon remand the parties may submit for the trial court’s consideration proof concerning the amount of the deceased employee’s medical expenses for which the employer is responsible." View opinion.